Florida is known for its beaches, people, food, and nightlife.
What many don’t know is that Florida is dominated by drug-trafficking groups doing business all around us.
The 2019 National Drug Threat Assessment by the Drug Enforcement Administration explains it all. From different groups, to how they operate in the United States.
There are various organizations, such as Mexican TCOs (transactional criminal organization), Colombian TCOs, Dominican TCOs, and Asian TCOs.
Read on to find out how Florida is an international hotspot for drug trafficking, how this affected our society, and how to get help for substance abuse.
Organized Crime Unleashed in Florida
Highlights from the definitions of these TCOs by the 2019 National Drug Threat Assessment include:
- Mexican TCO: “Mexican TCOs remain the greatest criminal drug threat to the United States; no other groups are currently positioned to challenge them.”
- Colombian TCOs: “Colombian TCOs’ control over the production and supply of cocaine to Mexican TCOs allows Colombian TCOs to maintain an indirect influence on U.S. drug markets. Smaller Colombian TCOs still directly supply wholesale quantities of cocaine and heroin to Northeast and East Coast drug markets.”
- Dominican TCOs: “Dominican TCOs dominate the mid-level distribution of cocaine and white powder heroin in major drug markets throughout the Northeast while also engaging in some street-level sales in the region. Dominican TCOs work in collaboration with foreign suppliers to ship cocaine and heroin directly to the United States from Mexico, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic.
- Asian TCOs: “Due to China’s currency control restrictions, Asian TCOs have taken advantage of the availability of U.S. dollars belonging to Mexican and Colombian TCOs in the United States by acquiring the U.S. dollars in exchange for the payment of Colombian/Mexican pesos in the respective drug source country.”
According to the Miami Subdivision of the DEA in the report:
“The Miami FD reports an increase in Mexican TCOs transporting and distributing large quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl into Florida from Mexico in recent years. The Sinaloa Cartel, CJNG, and BLO are the most significant Mexican TCOs in the Miami FD AOR (area of responsibility).”
Dominican TCOs also have a large role in Florida according to the assessment:
“Dominican traffickers take advantage of Puerto Rico’s status as a U.S. territory to facilitate commercial air transport of cocaine into the continental United States (CONUS), mainly into the Northeast and South Florida.”
The Caribbean Field Division from the assessment also states:
“Caribbean FD reporting shows a TCO with ties to anabolic steroid suppliers from China, Romania, India, Cambodia, Bulgaria, and Mexico that operates in Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas, and California.”
Florida and the U.S. are seeing a resurgence in cocaine, where Colombian TCOs dominate the supply. Because of this resurgence, this also leads to more overdose deaths. Cocaine is now also mixed with synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, increasing the risk of death.
Source: DEA
The assessment states Asian TCOs are big in money laundering:
“Asian TCOs specialize in the trafficking of marijuana and MDMA, and, to a lesser extent, cocaine and methamphetamine. They are also heavily involved in international money laundering activities, working with Colombian and Mexican TCOs. Asian TCOs actively conduct drug trafficking activities on both U.S. coasts and have distribution networks stretching across the country.”
In the last 10 years, TCOs have gotten bigger, and even work together. The drug problem in America ties directly to the supply increase in drugs as well.
How to Get Help for Substance Abuse in Florida
Florida’s an international hotspot for drug trafficking, but that doesn’t mean you have to get into the crossfire.
If you or someone you know is suffering from substance abuse, or any other drug addiction, seek professional help now.
Contact On Call Treatment FL, a South Florida drug rehab—available 24 Hours, 7 days a week, call us NOW 1-(855)-492-1515.